News Release

Parents have biggest share of responsibility in curbing young people's alcohol consumption

Peer-Reviewed Publication

The Lancet_DELETED

Young people are drinking more alcohol in many societies than ever before -- and it is their parents who must bear the lion's share of responsibility for teaching them about drinking safely. The issues are discussed in the lead Editorial in this week's edition of The Lancet.

Frequency of drinking, regular drunkenness, binge drinking, and being drunk before the age of 13 are all indicators of an unhealthy pattern of alcohol misuse that is becoming more common. Currently, 27% of UK 15-year-olds admit to having drunk at least five drinks in a row in the past 30 days compared with 22% in 1995. The Editorial says: "Accidental death, self harm, suicide, injury, violent behaviour, unprotected sex, alcohol dependence, and liver disease can all result. Nearly half of the alcohol drunk by these young people comes from the family home. Supermarkets, local shops, off-licences, pubs, and clubs provide the rest."

The Editorial stresses that the battle against alcohol misuse is one that must be fought on many fronts. As pointed out in the 2007 Lancet Series on Adolescent Health, increasing the cost of alcoholic drinks favoured by young people does reduce harm (but the cost of alcohol in the UK has halved in real terms in the past four decades). Restrictions on hours of sale also help, and retailers could have separate areas for alcohol sale, making underage purchasers more obvious. Manufacturers could decrease, or at least stop increasing, alcohol concentrations in their drinks, and bars could use smaller glass sizes. Raising the legal age for alcohol purchase and enforcing it through penalties also works -- eg, in some US states, lowering the legal age for purchase of alcohol to 18 increased the number of road traffic deaths, while raising it again to 21 in the 1980s reduced the number of these deaths.

The Editorial says: "A Youth Alcohol Action Plan is due to be published in the UK this year, with the aim of improving alcohol education in schools and tackling parental alcohol misuse. But unless the UK Government bans alcohol advertising, substantially raises taxes on alcohol, restricts its availability, and seriously debates increasing the legal purchasing age 21, an opportunity will be lost."

It adds: "But it is not just governments, drinks manufacturers, and retailers who need to partner willingly to reduce young people's drinking. The biggest share, and burden, of the partnership must fall on parents and guardians who should take greater responsibility for teaching children about drinking safely. Creating a culture in which alcohol is enjoyed in moderation, perhaps diluted, and is drunk with food as part of sharing a meal together, rather than drunk alone, is helpful. Learning to enjoy, without misusing, alcohol is an important part of growing up in many societies." It is also crucial to stop links forming between alcohol misuse and unhappiness, since young people who misuse alcohol and have symptoms of eg, depression can often develop alcohol addiction as adults.

The Editorial concludes: "Young people's drinking habits are increasingly unhealthy. Alcohol is too cheap, too available, and too acceptable in many countries. Price hikes, increasing the legal purchasing age, banning advertising, and restricting availability are all effective in reducing young people's drinking. But, in many societies, being drunk creates no surprise or abhorrence -- rather, it is tolerated, ignored, or even celebrated. For a healthy younger generation, society's relationship with alcohol has to change, beginning in the home."

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The Lancet Press Office, T) +44 (0) 20 7424 4949 E) pressoffice@lancet.com

PDF OF EDITORIAL: http://multimedia.thelancet.com/pdf/press/Alcohol.pdf


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